Department of Health (DOH) – MIMAROPA (Oriental/Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation yesterday signed the Social Protection Support Initiative (SPCI) – convergence project which intends to improve coordinated efforts of government agencies in improving well-being and economic status of poor households in the province of Occidental Mindoro.
“Convergence projects like the SPSI plays a significant role in reducing poverty incidence in the country. It will ensure a more comprehensive response in providing the needs of the poor, Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo stated during the MOA Signing held at the Bayview Hotel, in Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
“We will continue to sustain and strengthen our gains by further engaging partners in health and social and economic development of communities such as those in remote areas of the provinces,” Janairo added.
SPCI is composed of three subprojects namely the Watching Over Mothers and Babies (WOMB) by the DOH which provides easy access to maternal, neonatal and child health and nutrition services in the communities; the Sustaining Interventions in Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) by DSWD which assesses the over-all well-being and providing interventions and opportunities of target beneficiaries ; and the Sigurado at Garantisadong Insurance Pangkalusugan (SAGIP) implemented by Philhealth which aims to register all Filipinos in the health care system.
According to Janairo, this three tasks will complement and ensure the service delivery programs of the three agencies thereby strengthening the implementation and guaranteeing that every poor households in the target areas will be given what is due to them.
During the event, the DOH provided IT equipment such as laptops, desktops and tablets to various local chief executives of Occidental Mindoro . “This will be used by health workers under the WOMB project for the reporting and recording system of all health indices and storing data in the health information system as basis for the regular evaluation and assessment of health situations at the local level. country”, Dr. Janairo explained.
The SPSI convergence project started in 2011 in 6 municipalities of Orinetal Mindoro as its initial pilot test areas and then expanded to 8 municipalities and 1 city in 2013. On 2015, it was implemented in 11 more municipalities in Occidental Mindoro and will be completed by the end of 2016. (Glen Ramos/PR/DOH)
